In order to diagnose hepatic and hepatobiliary disease, and alcoholic hepatopathy and to observe therapeutic processes, biochemical tests are widely carried out by sampling and measuring the concentration of enzymes in the liver, kidney, pancreas, etc., or the concentration of products thereof in the blood. Devices for conducting such biochemical tests include a blood analyzer for centrifugal separation of plasma using centrifugal force that is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-83958. This blood analyzer performs operations in such that that it centrifugally separates serum or plasma from blood by rotating a chip with a blood sample that has been introduced therein by rotation around an axis of rotation, removing the centrifugally separated plasma from the chip by a pump means, and then introducing the plasma into an analysis tool. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,763 discloses a sample processing card, wherein a sample is introduced into a sample measuring means via a capillary with centrifugal force by rotation around two axes of rotation, and the measured sample is then mixed with reagents. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,361 discloses a micro analyzer, wherein the use of centrifugal force by rotation around an axis of rotation enables accurate measurement of biological samples, etc.
However, the blood analyzer shown in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-83958 enables the separation of plasma as a target component by using centrifugal force generated by rotation around an axis of rotation, but does not provide means for measuring the plasma after separation. Accordingly, the target component must be removed by a pump means in order to be introduced into an analyzer after separation, and therefore the sequential operations of separation, accurate measurement, etc. of the target component may not be performed within the same chip, leading to complicated processing. The sample processing card described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,763 removes a supernatant liquid from centrifugally separated samples using centrifugal force by means of rotation around two axes of rotation in order to extract a target component. At this point, the supernatant liquid containing the target component must be removed in a manner that enables the prevention of contamination with non-target components collected on the bottom due to centrifugal force, and thus fails to provide efficient extraction of the target component from the sample. Furthermore, the card performs the rotation around A in order to separate the target component from the non-target components, the rotation around B and A in order to measure the target component, and the rotation around B in order to mix the target component with reagents. Accordingly, switching must be performed at least three times, i.e., switching from A to B, switching from B to A, and switching from A to B, and this is complicated. Furthermore, a micro analyzer described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,361 measures a centrifugally separated fluid by removing a wax valve provided in a predetermined position to make the fluid flow out. Therefore, the micro analyzer described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,361 needs to have a wax valve provided. In addition, the application of heat, such as with infrared rays, may be needed in order to remove this wax valve, leading to the need for complicated temperature control. Furthermore, when the melting and dissolution of the wax valve results in wax being mixed into the sample, the sample and the target component may be contaminated, disabling accurate measurement and determination of the target component.
Then, an object of present invention is to provide a test chip that enables efficient and convenient separation and measurement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for using a chip having a sample containing a target component introduced therein that enables efficient and convenient separation and measurement.